The weeping willow shawl

One of my favorite among the traditional Estonian knitted lace patterns is the willow pattern. It is a simple and harmonic pattern, and I always feel a bit of melancholy when I am knitting it. I wanted to make a shawl using this pattern to remind me of my mother and brother, which died much too earl.

I wanted the shawl to fall heavily around my shoulders, so I chose a lamb wool yarn named Lacy Lamb. This is a lovely, elastic and thin yarn, and I only used two skeins for this shawl. I have to admit that the yarn was a bit more elastic than I anticipated. As a result, the shawl became larger than I planned after blocking.

I did not manage to block the shawl out before leaving on summer vacation in July. On our way home, we meat the police special forces rushing out to stop the man shooting children at Utøya. Coming home, watching the news as I starting blocking out this shawl, I will always associate it, not only with those I lost, but also with the terrible events that took place in Oslo and at Utøya in July 2011.

I have chosen to make the pattern for this shawl available free of charge, but it is only in Norwegian. However, if you are able to read Norwegian, you can find a link to the pattern HERE. To access the file, go to "File" and "Download original". (If you do not read Norwegian, you can always try Google translator.) I hope it is possible to follow the instructions. You may copy or distribute this pattern as you like, but I do appreciate it if you mention me when you do.